The exemplary embodiment relates to copiers and printers, and more particularly, to an improved apparatus and method for use in the clearance of jammed media sheets.
In a typical xerographic imaging device, such as a copier or printer, a photoconductive insulating member is charged to a uniform potential and thereafter exposed to a light image of an original document to be reproduced. The exposure discharges the photoconductive insulating surface in exposed or background areas and creates an electrostatic latent image on the member, which corresponds to the image areas contained within the document. Subsequently, the electrostatic latent image on the photoconductive insulating surface is made visible by developing the image with a developing material. Generally, the developing material comprises toner particles adhering triboelectrically to carrier granules. The developed image is subsequently transferred to a print medium, such as a sheet of paper. The fusing of the toner onto the paper is generally accomplished by applying heat to the toner with a heated roller and application of pressure.
The sheets of paper are conveyed through the imaging device by a conveyor system comprising baffles which incorporate sheet moving devices, such as rollers, and guides including parallel plates which constrain the sheets to move in a desired direction. Occasionally, the paper can become curled, skewed, or otherwise misaligned causing paper jams to occur. When a paper jam occurs, the jammed sheets are typically removed by an operator. To access the jammed sheets, an operator may pivot one of the guides away from the other and remove the jammed paper. To keep the guides closed when paper is moving at high speed through the baffle, the guides are held in place by latches, which in some cases, may be magnetic.
Magnetic latches have advantages for applications where openings and closings are frequent. A magnetic latch provides an inexpensive, durable, and simple closure device. One disadvantage of magnetic latches is the force required to separate the magnet from its catch plate. The strength of the magnet is greatest when the magnet or its strike plates are in direct contact with the metallic catch plate to which the magnet is attracted. The intensity of the magnetic field dissipates rapidly as the catch plate is moved from the magnet during the process of opening.